


Starswirl Academy

by VortexSwirl_24



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Author Is Sleep Deprived, BAMF Jack Harkness, Drama & Romance, F/F, F/M, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, Hate is also in the Air, Human Doctor (Doctor Who), Human Master (Doctor Who), If I can even do THAT, Jack Harkness Being Jack Harkness, Jack Harkness knows no limits, Love Triangles, Love is in the Air, Minor Thirteenth Doctor/Jack Harkness, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Song: Sick Boy (Chainsmokers), The Master (Simm) Has Mental Issues, The Masters Are In A Gang, The title is a My Little Pony reference, This academy is oblivious to a drug issue all the kids are off their rockers, Underage Drug Use, Weekly Updates, Women Being Awesome, You know for effect, cursing, do not go here, you will die
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:07:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27608768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VortexSwirl_24/pseuds/VortexSwirl_24
Summary: Starswirl Academy, lead by its Headteacher for over ten years, is known for lack of behavioural issues and high expectations, creating a large curriculum for all pupils 'enjoy'.Theta, whose now 15 and has moved from Sheffield down to London with her mother, starts at the Academy, the back of her mind already distrustful of the headteacher.But as she progresses into the Academy, she realises the 'outstanding behaviour' may not be as true as it seems...
Relationships: Jack Harkness/Everyone, The Master (Dhawan) & The Master (Simm), Thirteenth Doctor/The Master (Dhawan), Thirteenth Doctor/Yasmin Khan, Twelfth Doctor/Missy, Twelfth Doctor/River Song
Comments: 11
Kudos: 21





	1. First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

> This has been in my drafts for way too long and I didn't have much time to post it or anything because I was working of 30 Days of Thoschei and it was near the one month mark so thats why the beginnings slightly different to the other parts of this. Its literally been a whole month since I last wrote this so I'm completely sorry if this makes absolutely no sense. Just role with it... somehow...

Theta Sigma threw on her backpack in one swift motion, the grin on her face stretching wide across her face as she stood by the door, eagerly waiting to start her first day at her new school, Starswirl Academy. 

"Theta, there's still a half an hour until we need to leave!" Her mother yelled to her, smiling at the beaming face of her daughter.

"Oh..." she said, looking to the ancient wall clock with greek symbols in the place of numbers. "Right." 

"What time did I tell you we have to leave for?" her mother said with a grin.

"Eight uh, fourtyyynfive?"

Her mother shook her head jokingly. "And get there for...." She pointed the framed photo of her with "Theta" written on the front in cursive handwriting and a blonde haired toddler playing the grass

"Nine!" Theta said triumphantly after a few quiet seconds of trying to discover the answer in the corners of her mind.

"Right again, Little Hen." Her mother often made these little rhymes on the spot. Theta could remember her doing it since she learned to speak.

They watched TV for the remaining thirty minutes before finally going to begin the drive to Theta's new school, Starswirl Academy, in a new city, London. 

Her mother pulled out of the drive, moving at a slower than average speed on the right side of the road.

"Do you have everything you need, Theta?"

"What?"

"You know your lunch and everything?"

"Mum," she sighed, "It's only a Tour of the school. I don't start officially until next week. How come you didn't obsess over Brax like this? I don't really need this much..."

"I know but it's a whole day Tour and I don't want you going hungry because you forgot to pack your lunch. And your brother Braxiatel's being handled by your father so don't compare us like that."

"I'm reallt not that greedy though." She exaggerated a pout. "But yeah, I know I've got it right he-" she sat up recognising ahead of time the tragedy that was about to happen. "MUM LOOK OUT!"

Two things could've happened if Theta had not pointed out what was going to happen. 1) Her Mum could've collided with another car as, in Britain, cars drive on the left side, not the right. And 2) A tall brown haired boy with a black hoodie and evidence of a red shirt showing from below it suddenly rode into the road, causing both cars to smash their foot down on the brakes in alarm.

The boy looked at the two cars in alarm, then a burst of anger took over him and he muttered a long string of insults long enough to create a rope ladder leading to another planet.

He stared into the cars with a different type of rage as if mentally noting down the appearance of both drivers and the passenger. Theta buried her face in her hands, trying to hide her face when realising what he was doing but it was too late.

"Well," the mother muttered, the aftershocks of almost hitting a child only a few days into moving into a new area. "That's definitely one way to start a day". ____________ 

They walked into the (what they had assumed) was the reception. There were no evidence that explicitly stated it was the reception, there were faded shapes above the automatic doors as if there was once a sign for that part of the building but was worn away over time by exposure to the elements.

Theta's mother, brunette with the same dark brown eyes as her daughter, recieved two visitor's badges from a lady at the reception who didn't exactly seem to be enjoying her job. The lady, with a name tag too far away to read, pointed towards a row of seats lining against the walls, telling them to wait as she notified the headteacher of their early arrival and that they were ready to begin their tour. Her voice was dull and blank as she said so, sounding alot more like a woman who'd tried to stay up for two consecutive days trying to complete a mentally challenging task while on coffee that a woman trying to work at the reception.

They sat down on the seats. They were a dark blue with four wooden legs and were slightly worn around the edges but otherwise showed no signs of age. Opposite where they were sitting, above the other row of blue seats was a notice board advertising upcoming events at the school, like new clubs that are opening or competitions that could open.

Chemistry club sounds cool.  she thought

Beside the notice board was another board, instead with the names and pictures of each and every teacher in the school, including the headteacher, and vice head. This board was bigger than the other one, and slightly wider than it. 

Her mum nudged her gently, pulling her from her daydream, and placed her Visitor's badge around her neck, flipping the back to it lay flat on her neck. 

"Are you worried?" she asked while adjusting the ribbon it was attched to.

Theta leaned against her shoulder. "Not really. I think I'll be more worried when I actually start going to this Academy because thats when I make my real first impressions and my new friends" 

Her mum nodded at this response and they both sat in silence, staring at the two boards in front of them. Theta wasn't worried about the tour or even meeting the children. She was more afraid of what they'd think than anything else. Being on unfamiliar territory was never really her ideal situation, but she would still try to find a way around it, even if her nerves tried to contaminate her confidence.

A light brown wooden door opened next to them, a tall man with short black hair, stubble and a clipboard wedged under his arm walked into the room and smiled at the two girls sitting beside eachother. 

Already, based off of first impressions, Theta decided something was off about him and didn't enturely trust him, but then again, you should trust a book by its cover until you've read it from cover to cover. 

He extended his hand for Theta's mother to shake and she did so, finding it rude to have done otherwise and held her daughter by the arm, her grip a little bit too secure like she was afraid someone would suddenly grab her and run away. 

Probably got the same impression from him as I did.

"Hello..." he took a quick glace at the black clipboard. "...Miss Sigmund, is it? I am Mr Chamaeleon, the Headteacher of Starswirl Academy and I am going give you a tour of this Secondary school today. Hopefully, it will show you that this the correct school for your daughter. 

"Its Sigma, Mr Chamaeleon. And Theta's been looking forward to seeing what this schools like."

Leaning back slightly, she muttered so quietly that only Theta could hear it. "If the schools anything like it's Headteacher, you are definitely not going here." 

Theta hissed a quick 'mum' at her, supressing an explosion of giggles, trying to maintain a professional state but having to duck her head to do so. 

Mr Chamaeleon, visibly confused by the child's sudden burst of laughter and the mother's smug look, dismissed it as a family 'inside joke' and continued on with the Academy tour. The blue carpet stretched across the majority of the school, or at least as far as they could see, working in harmony with the white walls and wooden furniture.

First of all, they were lead through a set of see through double doors to the library. It was a small area, about the size of 2 cars in width and 3 in length. There were quite a few bookcases squashed into a small area which gave an impression of there being alot more thab there was. There were books of all sizes, genres and length and even had bean bag chairs of different colours that stood out from the general blue and white harmony. 

Unfortunately, because Theta had a tendency to zone out, she didn't hear her mother asking her a question. She looked up at her when she finnaky realised she was speaking and asked what she'd said.

"You like reading don't you? You'd love the library here. And there's so many books..."

The Headteacher chimed in. "There's also a library session everyday for an hour after school finishes if you wish to attend. People usually get homework done using the computers, read sone of the books of just talk with other people.

Theta, unsure of what to say to the man she clearly didn't trust, even if she had to put complete faith into him to save her life, simply nodded nonchalantly.

Next, they observed a few lessons, one of which included Chemistry with children who looked near her age but a little younger. They were doing the reaction test with a Diet Coke and regular Coke, dropping a handful of Mentos into them. Both bottles fizzed up, exploding in a pale brown fountain. She saw the kids stare open-mouthed at the experiment's results and before she knew it she was moving from class to class. 

Some, she had to admit, were extremely boring compared to others like Poetry or one particular lesson with a teacher who's voice seemed to drone on and on and on. She could almost swear she saw a few students trying to strain themselves to keep their eyes open. Some of them looked like they enjoyed the lesson somehow. A boy with short black hair and piercing blue eyes made eye contact with her and smiled, winking at her and mimicking the teacher's monotone voice through lip synicing.

One thing Theta knew was that she definitely didn't want to be in that lesson and hoped dearly that luck was on her side.

At some point, they entered a class that were currently learning History. He looked at the teacher who was of an average height for the age he looked and seemed, from the outside, like a normal person. Theta watched and then saw the students until her eyes fell upon one specific boy who seened familiar but she couldn't put her finger on it. He was blonde with a stare that burned a hoke through your soul. Suddenly, her mind was cast back to the incident this morning.

Ignoring Mr Chamaeleon's endless chatter she tapped her mother lightly, gaining her attention. She muttered quietly, asking her if she recognised the kid who was staring at them. Gasping, she recognised him almost immediately and lightly suggested they should visit another part of the 'prestigious school that is Starswirl Academy'. Turns out he's a sucker for flattery, immediately moving to another part of the school at the mention of all of the positive adjectives she used to describe his school.

When they'd seen all of the classes, they were lead to a big playground with concrete on the floor. Further off there was grass and a fence creating a barrier between the school owned fields and the houses that stood opposite. There were wooden tables with a circular top and a large oak tree near the back of the field. 

The tour ended at the cafeteria where it was relatively quiet except for the humming of machinery in the kitchen and the occasional clashing of cutlery. Politely, Mr Chamaeleon asked if there were any more questions that either if them wanted to ask, both of them replying with a no.

After this, Mr Chamaeleon asked if Theta's mother wanted to officially sign the papers and bring the required documents. She pulled the bag off of her shoulder and pulled some paperwork from it, then the tall man asked Theta if she wanted to go and wait for her mother in the reception area they began with. She nodded and he pointed to another see through double door.

She walked through and sat in the same chair a as before, looking at the boards again and trying to work out which ones she had seen (and disliked). About ten or twenty minutes later, they reappeared, the Headteacher with a grin on his face and so did her mother.

"Come on, Theta. We're going home now. I've gotten you a definite place at this Academy so you'll be able to start going next week."

They walked towards the reception doors and Mr Chamaeleon yelled after them.

"I'll will see you both next week, I presume"

"Will do" was all she said and they walked out, Theta's new position guaranteed school and her mother's weekdays being spent pulling her hair out trying to control her rebellious teenage son Brax.

___________

"Promise me you won't be like your brother," she said randomly in the car, sighing as the traffic light turned red and the rain fell on the car, making glistening trails on the windows.

"What Brax? That was kinda a little bit random to say at the moment but ok, mum."

"No, I mean it Theta. Don't grow up to be like Braxiatel. Promise?"

They locked eyes for a moment, her mother's seriousness evident in her eyes. The mother broke eye contact as the light turned green and concentrated on the road again.

"Ok, mum. I promise I will never do anything he did. I swear it."


	2. Your Tour Guide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theta begins her first day at Starswirl, finding that luck isn't exactly on her side. But maybe it will start to improve.

And they were off, heading back the way they came only a week before on their way to Theta's official first day of school. Her mother, as always, made a mental checklist of each and every thing they both needed as her mother would be going straight to work after dropping her off.

Part of her was worried, afraid of starting somewhere new and being launched into unfamiliar territory with possible threats and traps everywhere. Another part of her had some sense of excitement at meeting new people and what could happen on her first day. Hopefully it was something good.

They went through the office and you can only guess who was waiting there. Mr Chamaeleon stood there with what looked like a wirebound notebook and a forced smile. To Theta it seemed like he didn't care about the children, but only the paycheck even if he tried to hide that fact from suspecting view.

Theta followed he mother in, now wearing the Academy's uniform, complete with a special tie that you had to buy at an extortionate price from the school to be able to be abiding by the dress code. Regardless of this, she believed that there was at least one student out there who had a parent who could make clothes and could create a counterfeit tie for a small cost in ratio to this one.

Mr Chamaeleon handed the A5 size wirebound notebook to her, with that same forced smile on his face. She looked down at it and saw a large badge printed on it, with the name 'Theta Sigma' written in a fancy cursive font. It looked more expensive than the tie.

She opened it and saw a schedule covering a whole page with extra boxes for 'Extra Curricular Activities'. There were all sorts of names, numbers and acronyms on the page that seemed to her like someone finally got snapped by the school and slammed their head on the keyboard while they were working on it. 

She flicked through a few more of the pages, some explaining what to do if you witness bullying, fun facts (that were actually interesting) and a map of the school with numbers that closely resembled the ones on the schedule. Out of frustration and bewilderment at the schedule's language of it's own, she closed it again and left it for further examination later when she had some concept of how they worked.

"Hello Mr Chamaeleon. I was wondering if she just goes straight through or not?"

"Oh yes absolutely. She'll know where the class is by tomorrow. But this week she's going to have a guide who'll help her and hopefully answer any questions about the school she may have. By the end of the week she'll feel welcomed into this community like she started years ago."

"Thank you. Ok, Theta this is your first day at this school and I want you to be great today. Show them if they mess with you they'll have someone to reckon with."

Theta nodded, walking through the double doors that Mr Chamaeleon held open politely.

I still don't trust you... she thought calmly.

She was lead up a staircase and through a hallway to a class on the left hand side. Compared to the others, there were less pupils with a slightly smaller room. There were edcational posters about Science, Maths and English. The core subjects.

Theta stood behind Mr Chamaeleon when he walked in and introduced the new student. All of the children went silent, the way all school children did when the Headteacher walked in.

"Good morning, everybody." The class mumbled a response. It made sense though. It was Monday morning. "This is Theta. She will be starting here and I hope you will all welcome her into your school. New things can be very daunting so I hope you all help her through the first weeks."

"Hello, Mr Chamaeleon." The teacher of the class greeted him and turned to the student beside him with caring and warm eyes. "I'm Professor Yana, your Regestration and Science Teacher. You can sit..." he trailed off, scanning the classroom for an empty space. "Next to... Jack Harkness, at the back to the left. Or next to Harold Saxon, in the middle row."

Harold stared at her with the same chilling eyes threatening to impale and dissolve her soul to the point where it no longer existed in any form. 

Just my luck! 

She, hesitantly moved towards the back of the class and sat beside Jack Harkness, placing her bag on the floor next to her. 

It was her first class and she wasn't sure if she was in Regestration or Science yet. Possibly registration, but then again she could be doing science and not even know it. 

"Captain Jack Harkness. Like, I'm the Captain of this row."

"Stop it, Jack." A brown haired boy whispered.

Jack chuckled. "What?"

"You know what you were doing."

"I don't know what he's talking about." Jack's light blue eyes glanced out of the window then back at her. "So, your name is Theta? You gonna say hi?"

"Hi." Even though she didn't want to talk to him, he seemed very intent on talking to her. Already, she was regretting sitting where she did and would rather sit on the floor, if it was allowed of course.

"Jack, stop." A blonde girl said. She sat next to the brown haired boy who'd spoken before. "Leave her alone."

"Sorry, speak up. I can't hear you, Bad Wolf." He put emphasis into the last two works and smirked to himself, like he knew in advance the type of reaction he'd cause in her.

The girl Jack had called Bad Wolf hissed at him. "Again with the nicknames!"

Rose shot Jack a dirty look and continued to conversate with the boy beside her.

"I'm going to be your Tour Guide for this expedition on Starswirl Academy." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and Theta could easily guess by both Rose's reaction and how he was at the moment that he was the 'class clown'. 

"This is Regestration class in case you're wondering. We only have about five minutes of it left and then we're going onto Science class. You know that that's Professor Yana and all of us should have the same schedule through the week. So you can follow any one of us you see here."

Nervously, Theta shifted her bag beside her, closing and loosening her fist on the straps to calm herself down. Surely the day can't get any worse than this? I mean, you can only go up from rock bottom. 

Unless you break through the Earth's crust.

"Ok." 

"Are you Northern too?" A girl in front of her asks.

Theta nods, suddenly aware that people are closely observing the way she speaks and her mannerisms. She really didn't like being the new kid. At all.

"Leeds? Sheffield?"

"Sheffield."

"I'm Yasmin Khan, but you can call me Yaz."

"Theta Sigma." Through this meeting, she felt less afraid of the new school she had to attend with hundreds of faces she'd never met. Maybe everything will be ok. Maybe.

The bell went and no one got up as they'd have the same teacher for the next lesson anyway. Professor Yana continued to use his computer at the front of the class. A thought crossed her mind about Harold Saxon and, involuntarily, she glanced in his direction. He had a small notepad in front of him and was scribbling inside of it, quite violently Theta should note, and had his arm covering the side of it, hiding it from view. She could only see the notepad through a small crack between his arm and his head.

Suddenly, she realised that Jack had been unusually quiet since he explained what happened at the school and looked at him. Jack seemed deep in thought, tapping his fingers on the wooden table and staring at the front of the class. It gave the impression that he'd been hypnotized to finally stop talking. To Theta, it was plain creepy.

"So," she started, watching as his attention was reverted back to her. "Anyone in here I need to be particularly afraid of? Any bullies?"

Jack's response was too immediate for comfort. "Too many people..." 

"Such as...?" She pressed. 

"You see the kid scribbling in his notebook? Harold Saxon?" 

She tried to seem as calm as possible, not wanting to come off as weak and afraid of someone she technically hadn't met yet. "Yeah?" 

"Well, he's in a gang with a few members of this school. What they do isn't necessarily worthy of this school's report of 'outstanding behavior'. Some rumour's going around that he does drugs and smokes. He's not the most level-headed of people either. If you ask me, it's easier to just let them be. There's a tree at the back of the field. I'm pretty sure that's where they all meet up. They don't hurt anyone without reason, usually."

Jack's eyes darkened for a second like a memory flashed on his conscience and reminded him of a horrible event. They then lightened again. "Anyway, time for science class. We're doing a chemistry practical!"

I regret this decision with all of my heart. Maybe it would be easier to sit next to the person who constantly looked like he wanted to strangle you and then leave you to die in the most isolated place on Earth. You heard Jack, usually he doesn't hurt people without reason. Usually...

Ok, that wasn't a nice image.

Science was an interesting lesson, well at least to her. Professor Yana didn't call on her to answer any questions and she didn't put her hand up. They learned about Catalysts and how they effect chemical reactions. It was something she learned already but she forced herself to listen, trying to remain respectful and make a good impression on the teacher.

They made Elephant's toothpaste for their practicals. The One she had to share with Jack reached the ceiling, nearly staining it. Fortunately, Professor Yana took it as a light joke, considering this type of thing apparently had a tendency to happen often.

At some point, the lesson finished after they wrote a long conclusion. Then lesson ended with barely any distractions. She was surprised that even Jack knew when to be quiet. The next lesson was History in which they learned about the Boston Tea Party with Mr Hurt. Things were beginning to look up. She hadn't gone any lower than rock bottom which was also great. 

Jack became less problematic in History, showing an interest in the American Revolutions. Maybe her luck really hadn't run out and she could have a good day today. Maybe she'll even make a few friends. Maybe, despite everything she learned about the school so far, she'll find her place in the grand scheme of things.

Hopefully...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So because I lack creativity and so it's not confusing I'm just going to give the Doctors and Masters their actor's name unless they have a different name in the series (eg Simm's Master = Harold Saxon). The only characters by the name of Theta and Koschei are the current Master and Doctor  
> That is all you may be seated.


	3. Saxon's Group

Recess was... informative to say the least. Informative and irritating. For starters, Jack wouldn't stop following her everywhere she went, sticking to his promise of being her tour guide for the week.

A whole week of this... Who's saying he'll even stop at that!

After a few minutes she grew tired of trying to escape his everlasting aura of nuisance. She sat down on a bench

"I could almost say you were intentionally trying to avoid me, Theta."

Theta stifled a laugh.

"Wouldn't want that, Jack" She responded, then muttered under her breath. "We wouldn't want that at all..." Jack Harkness glanced at the back of the field, where the large tree swayed gently in the breeze, completely innocent in contrast to the people who frequently met below it.

Across the field, Theta could make out the blur of a boy with brown hair. He was staring at the ground, his hand making swirls in the dry, barren dirt. Still, he held the notebook in his arm, never really letting it out of his sight. 

"Those are the people you were telling me about in registration, aren't they? Harold Saxon and his group?"

"You mean, Harold Saxon's group. They all report to him. You could call him, 'Master of the gang'." He made air quotes with his fingers at that nickname and his gaze moved to the ground. "Well, that's the title he gives himself anyway. "

"Are there any girls? I can't see any from here. Just a parade of blobs, to be honest." 

"Lucy Cole, his girlfriend I think. Uh, there's another girl with brown hair... she has a lot of nicknames. 'Mary Poppins', 'Mistress of Evil', 'Missy' is a common one. But her real name is something like Beatrice Foxcraft or...croft. Yeah, I think it's Foxcroft. Funny thing is her mum's a teacher but her surname is different. Other than Lucy and Beatrice, I don't know about anyone else." 

"Beatrice Foxcroft..." Theta repeated quietly. She was doing that a lot this morning. Just her way of remembering much like how you enter your password twice to help you remember it correctly. 

"They've got a whole 'initiation process', symbol, maxim and everything. Strange to think a gang could be so organised. Worrying, even." Jack added on. 

Theta decided to change the subject of the conversation. "Anyway, enough about that. Who's everybody else who isn't wasting their lives below a tree?" 

Jack grinned and removed his gaze from his ground, placing it on her. "Why, I'll introduce you." 

__________ 

They arrived at a small group of people sitting by a tree stump that looked a lot like it had been cut down recently, from the pine needles and the circle shaped area of barren dirt below it with the stump in the center. One of them she recognised as Yaz, the girl who shared a similar cadence to her.

She also recognised another boy with short black hair and dark skin who had sat diagonal to her but next to Yaz. She didn't know his name but hoped to learn it.

Jack called out to them and the boy she didn't know the name of rolled his eyes with exaggeration. "Oh look, here comes prince charming."

Yaz looked up blankly, smiled and then nuged the boy with her elbow making him chuckle at her response. 

"Alright, so." Jack clapped his hands together and pointed. "There's Ryan, he's next to Yaz." He leaned towards Theta and put his palm over his mouth like kids did when they whispered secrets. Except he wasn't whispering and intended for them to hear. "He is witty and is sharp as a blade. The perfect partner if you ask me." 

Yaz stifled a giggle and Ryan tried to give the impression that he wasn't bothered by this comment, part of his face implying a small speck of embarrassment. 

"Can't say much for him. Calls himself Captain, which no one agreed on, and sticks to you like a magnet to metal." Ryan shot back. This did nothing to mitigate Yaz's explosion of giggles, the timer ticking closer and closer to zero, only building up as time went by. 

"Stopstopstopstopstop." Yaz spoke through her palm which was securely latched onto her face, attempting to restrict her from laughing, letting some words sneak past the barricades.

"Ooh, feisty one isn't he? Not as feisty as dreamboat when she's ready." 

At the mention of a 'she' Yaz waved shyly at Theta with her free hand then observed the blurs on the other side of the field, trying to resist the infectious atmosphere Jack now emitted. 

"You've met Yaz already. Only person I'm forgetting is Graham here."

"You could say it with a little more enthusiasm, mate." Graham said dully. 

"I could but I don't think you really want that." 

Ryan chuckled lowly. "I was unaware that we could just ask you to stop." 

"I was unaware that you wanted me to stop, dreamer." Theta suddenly felt very uncomfortable and wanted to be anywhere other than near the two people who were acting like they were about to declare war soon. 

"So, do you like it here?" Yaz spoke up, trying to change the subject before the conversation got out of hand and went beyond the point of no return.

Theta forced a grin. "It's alright." Yaz smiled at that. 

"Yeah, alright. I bet it's because he's been following you around." 

"Don't deny it Yaz, I know you felt sparks fly when we first met."

She scoffed. "I think those flames have been long extinguished by now, Jack." That comment made him pout in mock offense then laugh. 

"So, anyway. As your tour guide I'm here to answer your queries and inform you of the happenings at this school. Follow me and we shall continue your tour, Madame Sigma" 

Theta smiled at him and raised an eyebrow. "Yeesh, okay, okay I'll drop the whole voice thing." 

___________ 

Was he trying to get her alone with him? 

Not that she was afraid at all. Besides, her mother had given her full permission to injure anyone who messed with her and, if necessary, she intended to use it. 

But out of the blue, that crossed her mind, making Theta wonder whether it was boredom that was the root cause of that strange thought, snapping herself back to reality and following close by 'her personal Tour Guide' as he put it. 

He lead her to the corner of the field, to the right of Harold Saxon's group. The fence whole was obscured by hundreds of high reaching plants to the point where you couldn't see through them unless they were cut down or moved. A pine tree that was much smaller than the grand Oak lay lonely in the corner, offering a bit of shade if you huddled beneath it.

Jack crouched down near the fence, the shade from the tree missing him by a few inches, and signalled for her to do the same. He put his index finger to his lips, silently telling her to be quiet, then opened a small gap in the overgrown grass and looked through it. Nodding, Jack moved away from it and motioned for her to look.

Unprepared for what was beyond the fence, she looked through the space and saw about three men. From their appearance she would guess early thirties, all of them with dark coloured clothes and moving around with a skittishness that gave the impression that they weren't meant to be there.

"You see them? The three guys?" She nodded. "They're Saxon's... 'suppliers' if you know what I mean." Whispered Jack, wanting to slip under the radar of the tall, shady looking men. 

One of the men, he was wearing all black which was weird if you thought about it. Black is typically worn at night if you want to avoid being seen. But there were houses and a road behind there. Dozens of potential witnesses. If they really were selling drugs to underaged children in broad daylight wearing clothes that look suspicious and even acting so guilty it wouldn't take a genius to discover they were doing something illegal, they were practically begging to be caught. 

The man scanned his surroundings, like he was up to no good you could add, then gingerly retrieved a small transparent bag from his pocket filled with a white powder and opened it. Theta gasped and stepped back, knowing she didn't want to see what happened next. 

"Oh, fuck they really do... they... but how..." Grabbing the grass around the space Jack made, she evened it out so it would hide them both from the people on the other side and sat down beside him, avoiding eye contact from utter shock. 

Jack's reaction to her witnessing it first-hand was said blankly with a hint of skepticism. "Like I said, Theta. Not worthy of 'outstanding behaviour'. 

"How do they even get away with that?" Now she began tap the ground lightly and draw mindless scribbles in the dirt. 

"Cyclical structure. They do this everyday, the same way every time too. At the exact same time on the dot. It's... well, disturbing to watch in action on a day to day basis, but it desensitizes you. You almost don't care after a while of witnessing a repeat of the same scheme again and again, somehow always succeeding despite the amount of flaws there are. Sure, they're throwing their lives away but, you just get used to the constant exposure..." Disgust leaked into his sentence at very end and Theta could hear the pain in his words. 

"One of the most prestigious academies according to their inspections and they haven't seen anything or even heard any rumours?" 

Jack went quiet for a few moments, part of his arm being covered in the tree's shade. "I doubt it." 

"But there's a whole row of houses right there so close with the ability watching them like it's some kind of movie. Not to mention half the kids would be acting high all the time and very disruptive. Are there even cameras? Seems smart, cameras. They're the eyes at the back of your head! A genius invention if you ask me and one that would be very useful right now!" 

"One, they terrorise the neighborhood. I know they don't look like much but looks can be deceiving - Especially for that Harold over there and Beatrice Foxcroft. Two, they take it in moderation. They're smarter and more strategic than you think. Saxon gives them all rations. And three, there are cameras but... only inside the building. The thing about Saxon's group is that they always act nice and innocent, also when the inspection people come in to grade and survey our school. They have a little group of scouts that keep an eye out for people walking to close or people withing hearing rage. But once they find out about this it will all finally end. Every single kid in this school's going to have to take a drug test whether they want to or not. All of them will know one day, Mr Chameleon, the teachers. Heck, maybe even the whole area if this makes the news. But for now, we just let them be." 

Jack sighed and moved his gaze to the fence and back to Theta. "Karma's gonna collect their debt. It's just waiting for the interest to gather." 

Without warning, the bubbly personality she recognised him with dematerialised which caught her off guard, his eyes reaching their freezing point. An unfamiliar graveness to his voice unnerved her, a spark of unease about the future set alight deep inside of her. He was nearly fully covered in the shade, like he was retreating into it finding more comfort in the eternal darkness than the temporary light. 

"Just remember this, Theta. When all is said and done, they still don't know about all the crazy shit we do at the end of the day..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have taken my SLEEP  
> But I can sleep later, it's all good  
> My fandom needs my assistance!  
> Even if it's two in the morning ;')


	4. Playing With Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theta learns of a rumour about a love triangle among two teachers and a Technician.
> 
> Jack Harkness plays with fire and has grown familiar to it. What happens when the fire starts to grow uncontrollable?

The bell went in the distance, only making a faint noise at the back of the field. Theta stood up and extended a hand to Jack who took it. They both walked across the field, staying close to the fencing and putting as much distance between them and Harold Saxon's group as they could attempt.

Despite trying to ignore them as much as she could, Theta couldn't help but cast her gaze in their direction, seeing Harold's group move almost like birds in flight. They were disorganised to the point where it looked organised.

She pushed her hands into her pockets and continued on towards the academy, training her eyes on her destination rather than letting her mind wonder about what shenanigans they would be up to around the school.

Jack nudged her, noticing her grey mood. "Not everyone here is like that, you know. I'm not like that. Yaz, Graham and Ryan aren't like that. And a bunch of other kids too. All we need to do is mind our own business and we'll all be alright. The Academy's okay when you know who to trust."

That helped her to some extent. She was shocked by the initial turn of events. One of the most outstanding schools having severe drug issues in plain sight. What else slipped below the radar at Starswirl? Did the kids have weapons? Is the Headteacher aware of this at all but choses to ignore it? Something about the last sentence he had said disturbed her.

"Do you know who to trust?" 

"Sometimes." 

"Had anyone been caught before?" Was the last question she asked before they went inside. Theta wanted the conversation to end before she became sick with the new knowledge she'd learned. 

"A few times. Or at least, a few I can remember. They got expelled for a week or so and they were back. No one's saying that they improved from that at all. They just came crawling back to u... to him." Jack had paused before the end of the sentence but the save was so swift it was barely noticeable to Theta. 

"Anyway, we've got Design and Technology now. It's not far from here." 

When they'd gotten in, they say down, Theta recieving a new blue book for D&T from the teacher, Jack letting her copy the front page. She was sat on a rectangular table of 6 with four other students she didn't know, her 'Tour Guide' still being allowed to sit next to her 

The teacher was a woman, wearing a long purple dress with a crisp white polo shirt and a look on her face that made her seem nice but with a mischievous flair to it. A complete contrast to Professor Yana, their Science and Registration teacher. 

"To those who don't know me I am Miss Magister." Her smile had a strange crookedness to it as she looked towards the only new student in the room. "I am your Design and Technology teacher and we are going to learn about the positives and negatives of using different materials in clothing." 

Miss Magister turned away from them and wrote on the board. Theta used this opportunity to nudge Jack and catch his attention. 

"She gives me a bad vibe." 

"And right you are to get one. Remember Beatrice Foxcroft?" He pointed at the teacher while she was still writing. "That's her mother." 

"What?!" Theta whispers. It was above a whisper, probably a little to loud as the teacher turns around, narrowing her eyes at the class and then turning back to the board, talking about design related stuff she was too shocked to listen to at the moment. 

"Yep. Strange, I know. But that's Starswirl Academy for you. Rumours have it that she has a thing for the Computer Technology teacher. Absolutely destined to fail, though. Rumours also have it that he has a thing for one of the Technicians. Imagine being in that situation. Sticky love triangle." 

"How long until Lunch?" 

"Hm?" 

"Lunch. How much longer?" 

"Hey, this lesson isn't as long as you'd think. About twenty minutes in she loses care for all of us and we all start talking. Might as well fight to the death, she'd probably film it." 

Theta crossed her arms on the desk and rested her chin on them, letting out a frustrated sigh. Looking at the blue book in front of her with her name on it, Theta let her mind wander, but not too far away. 

A different voice answered her earlier question. "112 minutes until lunch. If I were you I'd invest in a a stack of notebooks. Some of these lessons can get really boring." Theta lifted her face from the desk, moving her gaze to a boy with big ears and short brown hair to her left. 

"Hal Gryden. Nice to meet you." 

"Theta Sigma." She told Hal, her face sinking back onto the desk but being stopped halfway when Jack poked her. 

"Don't be like that. This isn't that bad. You've only got 110 minutes or so now. That means 50 minutes of this lesson so you'll be alright." Jack said. 

Theta questioned if she would be alright. 

_______________

Being a Technician wasn't the easiest of all the jobs in the school, but it was enough for her. The pay was decent and she had been able to make a few good friends in her field but River couldn't begin to imagine what it was like to be a teacher, all of those kids whispering rather than paying attention or gossiping about things that had no truth to them. 

That wasn't to say she wasn't just like them as a child. If she were honest, the amount of time she'd spent in the Headteacher's Office compared to actually being in class was at an extremely disproportionate ratio. 

River Song had started her job as a Technician only a year ago and managed to develop some level of trust with one of the teachers. He was a lot nicer when you'd worn down the ice-cold steel barriers he fought strongly to keep up.

And all it had taken was a few broken computers, a couple of destructive students and a very, very confused teacher to bring them together.

The first time they'd met, he looked at her with a flicker of recognition as she shuffled towards a computer glitching quite violently at the back of the class. River had dismissed it as her misinterpretation of his emotions, considering her never used to show any, but was more sure of it the second time around.

They'd met somewhere. She was sure. 

But where, when and how? That was another story. 

_______________

"You said I'd enjoy this." 

"Yes, I did." 

"I hate literally everything about what we're doing right now." She began to pace around the classroom, avoiding the bags on the floor and tables in rows. 

"Lighten up, Theta. It's your first day, you might as well have a little fun. Make an impression."

"This is the wrong type of impression. Jack, stop it. Stop that, no. Jack!"

"Relax. I'm just messing with him. It's practically harmless."

"Harmless for him, not for us. You're messing with Harold Saxon!" 

"And?" He replied and craned his head around to look at her with so much nonchalance it was as if she'd just told him 'you stole my food'. 

"I don't want to be involved in this." 

"Listen, Harold's going to be here in..." Jack pulls up his left sleeve to reveal a black and blue watch on his wrist. "Four minutes. With any luck, he'll bring Beatrice or Lucy. Maybe even another one of his friends. You leave now any you're going to miss out on the prank of the week." 

"Jack this is a horrible idea..." 

He shugs. "If you want to go, fine by me. If you're staying, you can put that tape on the strings of the Party Poppers over there. You stay and I promise you that he won't swear death on you too." 

Theta considered what he was saying, observing Jack filling an envelope with glitter with the widest and most devious grin on his face, resembling a child successfully cheating on their test. 

Abandoning him won't be good. She doesn't know where she's going anyway. Might even run into them on the way. Who knows what they would do then. And anyway, leaving Jack to face Harold alone if things were to go badly wasn't the kindest of ideas. He knew he was taking a risk and certainly looked confident in doing so. She may as well stay. Jack seemed to know no limits when it came to Harold Saxon. 

Theta sighed, sure that she was going to regret agreeing with him. "Give me the tape." 

At that he smiled, grabbing the two items and giving them to her whilst he carefully slipped the glitter into the envelope without spilling any.

"You done this before?" She asks while smoothing out the tape, careful not to touch the sticky side. 

"Nope. But this won't be my first prank against him. I have a history of doing these type of things." 

"How do you even know it'll work?" 

"Oh, I do. He does this pretty much everyday. Harold comes back to class during lunch and gets his food, always with someone. Trust me, I know him like the back of my hand. You can always hear him talking when he comes up the stairs so you have about 10 seconds to go. When he sees this, he'll know who sent it." Leaning against a table, he writes Harold's full name on the letter and places it directly in the center of his table, being so careful with it, you'd think he was holding an explosive. 

"I can't do this it's wrong and were taking such a big risk-" 

"Theta. I promise you. You will not receive any of the blame for this. He knows who I am." 

"Okay. I'll stay. What did you want me to do with these Party Popp-" 

They heard faint voices and made stared at each other with wide eyes. 

"Come on," Jack dashed to the door and opened it, Theta following close behind him. He jumped into the nearest classroom and so did she, peaking around the corner. "You'll want to see this." 

"But Jack, I've still got the Party Poppers." 

"That's alright. I need them. Now, quiet they're here." 

Harold appeared around the corner, Beatrice following close behind and laughing as they walked through the corridors. Both walked through, unsuspecting of the cruel trick about to be played on them. 

Jack waited until they both went inside and closed the door behind them to nudge Theta, signalling her to get closer. With a lot of hesitation, they moved near the door and ducked below the large rectangular window beside it that showed the room. 

"Pass me the Poppers." Said Jack, holding out his palm and looking up at the space between the door and the wall. When she passed it to him, he reached up and stuck the string to the wall side and the Party Popper to the door. 

"You know this is still my first day, right. Like, it's the first day and I'm already trying to recieve a death threat the school bully." 

"Won't be the first person to do so. Okay, I put them in place. Now we wait." 

He pressed his ear to the wall and she does the same, realising how clearly she could hear the two. The walls were very thin. Probably another way to invade privacy and find out about anything that was going on in their schools. 

She smiles. 

"... you're not the only one with some level of importance, you know. I'm something of a queen myself." 

"Missy, you are the secondary leader. I am the primary leader. You're a Princess, I'm the King." 

"A very powerful one as well. Everyone knows that power transfers to the next monarch if anything were to happen to the ruler." 

"Is that a threat, Mistress Foxcroft?"

"Depends. Was that the way you perceived it, Master Saxon?"

Their combined cackled of laughter rang through the halls, going on for a few seconds then subsiding gradually. 

"There's no other person I'd want to be the vice-leader than you." 

"There's no other person I'd want to be the leader than you." 

"I am a great... Oh. Did you put this here?" 

"Put what where?" 

"This letter. With my name on it." 

Jack smiled at her, Theta feeling worry swell inside of her and frowning. She had no idea what was going to happen but was curious enough to stay put. 

"Must have been one of those kids you control. They've written your whole name and the sign of your gang. Maybe they want to strike a deal with you. Raise their rations. Give you something in return." 

"Yes, maybe..." he muttered under his breath, looking closely at the handwriting and feeling that he'd seen it somewhere before. He slipped it into his pocket. 

"You aren't going to open it?" 

"I have a strange feeling about this letter." 

"You have a strange feeling about everyone and thing, Harold. Just open it." 

Gingerly, he opened the top, the flap spelling the words 'turn me around'. 

"What is this..." Harold turned it around and a cloud of sparkles flew out, sending shimmers and colourful shines onto his desk. 

It took him a few seconds for it to register what had happened. Then came the outrage. 

"Harold? Are, are you alr-" 

"That son of a bitch! I knew the handwriting was familiar! I knew it and I didn't even realise it!"

"Who's handwriting, Harold?" 

"None other than our Harkness himself." 

At the mention of his name, he flew up to the window, giving his location away in a single movement. 

"Still smart, huh?" 

"You. he growls. 

"Yeah, it's me. The one and only. Thought it would take you longer to figure it out with an IQ like yours." Smiling, Jack winks and waves, only adding fuel to the ember he created. 

Theta stared in disbelief. "Jack what the heck-" 

"Go. Run. Now." 

Harold stormed towards the door and Theta took this as a sign, bolting towards the corner. Jack stopped before he ran away and watched Harold open the door in a fit of rage, not recognising the Party Poppers being set off in the process. He jumped in shock as ribbons of different hues fell on top of him, Missy letting out a squeak of horror at the ordeal. 

"You'll regret what you've done, Hark! You should know better by now! You've drawn much to many lines now and it's time I finish this! Finish you. When I find you, oh when I do!" He stood in the corridor, yelling at the very top of his lungs and darting his flame-filled eyes straight at Jack. Glitter covered his trousers and shoes, ribbon becoming tangled in his hair. He looked a complete mess. 

They had escaped down the stairs and to safety before either of them could hear the end of his threatening rant.

When they had reached the playground, they caught their breath and Theta became outraged, adrenaline still working through her. "You are beyond crazy, Jack Harkness! You're on another level! He's swearing vengeance on you!" 

"And not you. See? I kept my promise. Besides," He straightened himself up and started towards the field, slipping his hands into his pockets and grinning to himself. "What's the worst he can do?"


	5. Tech Master is Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theta's idea of a first impression goes straight out of the window and onto the other side of the road.

"Five forgotten passwords. One needs login details. Room CS.12. Who's free?"

River wasn't one to jump at the opportunity to reset some passwords but at the mention on CS.12, the classroom of the Doctor, she willingly volunteered, arousing suspicion in her colleagues.

"You sure, River? I know you don't like going anywhere on your lunch break. I could always get someone else to go there. You know the equipments always breaking or something in that class. Swear this school can't afford any new technology."

She smiled and tucked her chair in it's place, making the grin seem as casual as she could manage.

"Well, it's the start of a new term, Lux. There's bound to be a few people forgetting their passwords."

"We're two weeks into the school term-" 

Too late. River Song had already left heading for CS.12, the door swiftly closing behind her. She found herself struggling to contain a wide grin she didn't even know she had been hiding. 

His door was a dark blue with the metal number 12 that had started to rust with age and probably poor maintenance. It had been a while since she'd seen a caretaker upstairs come to think of it. Might be something she wants to look into. She may be a Technician but she had a degree in Archeology, a flair for adventure and a taste for detective work. 

The chances she'd find any at this type of school was slim, but numbers weren't always reliable. Even the most efficient and 'perfect' schools had their flaws. 

Taking a deep breath, she twisted the handle and slid inside of the classroom, the students murmuring amongst themselves at their computers. She had almost immediately made eye contact with the teacher of the Computer Sciences class, him wearing that same expression of uncertainty as always when she appeared. It was like he was searching for her name in his mind, finding only severed links and smudged memories but nothing that created a profile. 

"I was told there were a few forgotten passwords and a student who needs a new login here..." 

_______________

"... and that's why I am the best at coding." Jack said, demonstrating his skills by fanning his hands at a basic website he'd created from HTML. The whole class were sat at the computers, getting one each. Still there were six of them off. 

"But that's easy! I could do that. I just need to wait for my own account and then we'll see who's the Tech Master."

"Didn't they used to call you that? 'Tech Master'?" Theta looked to the person to her left. It was Ryan Sinclair from the group Jack had introduced to her earlier. 

"Used to, yes." 

"Didn't you also go by "Hack" or something?" 

"Again, used to." He says through a jaw clenched tightly in festering frustration. 

"When you were still-" 

"Yes." He hissed at the person, making them retreat back to their computer with slight fear evident in their movements. 

"Jack." Called another voice, this time on Jack's right side. It was Yasmin Khan. "You didn't need to do that! Ryan didn't mean to annoy you!" 

"There's the Hack I know." The sentence was laced in a poisonous amount of smugness with a distinctive voice Jack knew all too well. "You heard me." His blue eyes became ice and he met the gaze of none other than Harold Saxon. He was leant nonchalantly against the table with a smile that made Jack want to throw him to the ground and drag him on concrete for an eternity. 

"Hit a nerve, Jackie boy?" He cackles, smiling knowingly. "Ah, come on, Hark. Why don't you teach me a lesson, Hack? Show me what you can do, unless you're too much of a kid for that. Where's Tech Master, hm? Where is the real demon, hiding behind that false kindness and 'charm'." 

Yaz chimed in trying to diffuse the explosive in the room that was about to erupt. "It's the last lesson of the day! Don't lower yourself to his level or you might do something you are going to regret later." 

"No, no, no, no, no. You are not playing Samaritan with me, Yaz." Jack tells her, patience beginning to wear thin. "This is my life. My decisions." 

"Jack..." Theta started, feeling remorseful for the poor student who he had nearly yelled at. "Did you have to do that? He wasn't doing anything wrong. I don't think he knew you'd react like this..." 

"Just a dirty cheat who uses their talents in vain." Harold adds fuel to the fire, his brown eyes briefly flicking over to Theta's. "Doing that to her too? Still a swindle as always? Con-man? Amazed me how great you were at it, then you waste it on worthless pranks?" 

In what was just a few moments, Jack left abruptly, slamming the door in a fit of rage and leaving Harold's gang to snicker amongst themselves, some high-fiving each other. 

"Right. That's a detention for the three of you." His Scottish accent is thick and commanding, making the majority of the class freeze in fear. The Technician watched them beside him with wide eyes. 

"Harold. Jack. Do you realise that this is the fourth time I've given you a detention for this type of behaviour in the past two weeks? And I have had only four lessons with you in that time, so that's one in each lesson. Do you really want me to hand you detentions every time you enter this lesson? And I'd expect more from you young lady, considering this is your first day.. Harold, you're not even wearing the correct trousers! What are those, your P.E uniform? That's blatant disrespect for the school's uniform standards. What makes you think you're more special than the rest of us so much that you don't have to go by the same rules? Standard detention for you and Jack. Double detention for Mister Saxon." 

"Master Saxon." Coughs Harold. "Mister is used for those over the age of eighteen years. I am fifteen." 

Theta suddenly felt very self-conscious, finding a few students were staring at her with shock with the exception of Harold who glared at the teacher much like when she'd first set foot in their Registration class. But part her couldn't help but pout in an attempt to cover up the fact that she found Harold getting double the detention beyond hilarous. Hilarous. Just don't let him know that's what she thought. 

An argument began to brew between the teacher and Harold, temporary taking the attention off of Theta. 

First impressions! What happened to that plan? First day and I've gotten a detention. Not to mention she pranked the school bully and humiliated him in front of a member of his own gang.

Well, she didn't have much else to lose now. 

She gets up and neatly places her chair beneath her table in as if silently making a statement. Starting towards the door while ignoring the teacher who had postponed his argument with Harold to call her back to the class (more like yells of anger) and stop being disrespectful. 

As she opened the door and walked through it, his shouting had become gibberish, drowned and suffocated in a rough Scottish cadence. Closing the door behind her and taking a breath of relief, she realised that she could still hear the muffled ranting of their Computer Sciences teacher and walked away to find Jack. 

Theta walked through the halls, looking for a clue to Jack's whereabouts. 

She finds him. Like in every high school TV show she finds him in none other place than the Janitor's closet. How cute. 

One leg outstretched and the other bent, he sat on the cold ground with arms crossed and his face riddled in a mix of hatred and hurt. He didn't so much as flinch when the door opened. Without saying a word she sat beside him, drawing her legs in and wrapping her arm around them, her hands acting like a buckle to the belt that was her arms. 

They let the silence hang for a while. The calm before the storm. Theta fought the urge to bite her nails to release her nervous feelings. 

"Look, I'm sorry I snapped a little but I don't like to be called by those names. They remind me of someone else I used to be that I will never be proud of. I just, I don't use those names loosely. At all. Can we just go back to the lesson and stop this." 

"I wanted to apologise. It was my poor choice of words. If I'd known-" 

"No, it's not your fault Theta. You didn't know. Still your first day. But you really shouldn't have followed me here. You could get in trouble for leaving class." 

"I came here anyway and I'm not leaving just like that." 

Jack huffs and his eyes find the floor. "Were you this stubborn in your last school or is that false confidence?" 

"Eh, a dash of both really but it usually worked out in the end. When I didn't get detention or into a fight..." Her expression changes as she remembers her past school. "...which happened a lot more than I realised."

"I guess we're all a little stubborn at times." 

"Do you want to talk about what happened or...?" 

"How very cliché of you." That catches her off guard. The sharp, on the verge of attack tone of voice he uses. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean- Well, I just- I didn't want to-" Theta bows her head in defeat. "I'm sorry, have I offended you?" 

"It's okay. I shouldn't be so mean. You've done nothing against me." He sighs and gazes at the grey, water-damaged wallpaper in the closet. "Tech Master's just an old alias I used a few years back. Got some negative links to it so I don't talk about it much. He's gone now; Tech Master is dead. I killed him and took his place. But still the dead are remembered, for better or for worse."

"If he's dead he's dead. No two ways about it. The people who are truly your friends will recognise you for who you are. If you're Jack Harkness now, you're Jack Harkness for however long you want to be. It doesn't matter who you were in the past, just what you've done to improve it."

He smiles weakly at Theta. "Look at you getting all Therapeutic like you're some kind of Doctor." 

"So, Janitor's closet." She started, trying to move them both away from the awkwardness they'd created with the subject. "Bit cliché, don't you think?" 

They both laugh, lightening the atmosphere. "So cliché you nearly wouldn't expect it." He turns serious but concerned. "Did we get detentions. I'd be surprised if we didn't." 

"Yeah... sorta... " 

"No suprise there."

"Us and Harold." 

Still, Jack shrugs like he wasn't spending his afternoon in detention with the school bully who also happens to be high half of the time. "I sorta maybe... left the room without permission." 

Jack chuckles at that. "Stubborn Sigma. That's what I'm calling you." 

"What? No, that's dumb. How about I call you Hard-work Harkness. Or Humourless Harkness." 

"Oh, I can be hard-work alright. And you know I am not humourless. I saw you smile when we pranked Saxon. You didn't think I saw it but I did."

"Alright you got me! It's one of those 'we'll look back and laugh at this' situations, isn't it? Harold had glitter all over him - I couldn't help myself!" 

"And confetti all tangled in his hair." Pointed out Jack, relishing in the memory. 

"How'd you think he got it all out at lunch?" 

"Theta, he was wearing P.E trousers in Computer Sciences." 

Another shriek of laughter fills the closet. "Sir said he was going to have double the detention for 'blatant disrespect for the school uniform standards.'" She quoted him with her best Scottish accent, only creating more howling laughs between them. 

"So, how long we gonna stay in here?" Asks Theta. "Can't stay all day... could we?" 

"Can we?" He replies blankly. 

"Well there's not much point going back now. The teacher will probably assault us with gibberish." 

Jack adds, "And there are only two lessons left... One and a half, really. Wait, wait, wait. Are you suggesting that we..." 

"Bunk off? Maybe. Probably. Definitely. Makes sense, doesn't it?" 

"Theta whatever your middle name is Sigma, you a very bad girl. And on your first day?" He fakes a scoff. "The scandal. The very thought of even doing such things-" 

"We staying here or are you gonna lecture me? You have any other options, I'd love to hear them." 

"I guess we don't really have a choice, huh?" Jack crossed his legs beneath him and places his chin on his first. "So, you up for 'I Spy'?"


	6. First Day, First Detention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detention can prove quite boring when you're told to sit in silence for a whole fifteen minutes. They seized the moment when the teacher left them alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a blast from the past:
> 
> Harold: *Stares ominously into camera, completely obliterating the fourth wall*
> 
> Theta: *In corner* Hi um, this Chapter-
> 
> *Harold turns and glares at her*
> 
> Theta: *This- it's by VortexSwirl_24-
> 
> Jack: *Is in other corner* Chapter 6 of Starswirl Academy: First Day, First Detention by VortextSwirl_24 NOW PLEASE LET US GO
> 
> Harold: *Stares more intensely*
> 
> Me: *turns off camera* Aight I got it.
> 
> Enjoy the Chapter :D

Dr. Twelve he went by. His real name was difficult to pronounce anyway. And this Doctor who went by the name of Dr. Twelve was on his way to a certain Design & Technology teacher's classroom to ask if his class could use it tomorrow for, at a push, fourty-five minutes. 

In any other situation this would be absolutely fine. He would probably even request a whole hour. But unfortunately today, he was on his way to Miss Magister's Design & Technology classroom to speak to her. Of course, this doesn't seem like much of an issue. 

Except it was that much of an issue. 

He couldn't stand the constant attempts she made at trying to coax him into a relationship. Not to mention all the innuendos she made of his words. That wasn't even the worst of it! 

He'd had to drag all of his limbs to her class and force himself to ask as politely as he could do without wanting to rip his hair out. 

The result was not far from what he'd anticipated. 

"Just begging for some more time in my presence, are we?" 

Already tired of her antics, he replies with a dull voice. "Quite frankly I think it would be much easier if you were not present. You have a class of your own, Miss Magister. Pupils you are responsible for." 

"I am also responsible for my classroom and what goes on inside of it." 

"How do you plan on 'supervising'?" 

"I could get a substitute teacher." 

"With yourself still inside of the school in complete and full health?" 

"I have my ways." 

"The amount of times you say that is concerning." 

"Aw," She paused and Dr. Twelve braced himself for the oncoming innuendo. "You're concerned about me. How sweet. You could almost pass that off for an act of kindness." 

"Dream on, Magister." 

"Oh, don't worry. I definitely do." 

There was a few seconds of silence in which she smiles with a crookedness that could convince anyone she were a real criminal. Dr. Twelve, choosing to leave the conversation in the dust, sighed in defeat and asked once again to use the classroom. 

"Depends. If it will only be me and you here..." 

"Magister!" 

A crackle rose from her throat and spilled from her lips. "Of course Twelve. You can use the room." 

"Thank you." He says finally and Miss Magister turned to leave the room, pausing at the door. 

"Oh and Twelve." A grin spreads the corner of her lips to reach an eerie distance. "Please leave the classroom how you left it. I'd hate for it to get dirty in here." 

_______________

Theta drummed her fingers against the wooden table, leaning on her other arm and staring up at the clock with such intensity you would think she was trying to lift it with telekinesis. It had been a mere five minutes since she had arrived in the Detention room and already it felt like hours had gone by but that was probably just her lack of patience.

There were only four people in the room, five if you counted the teacher, each student placed in a square on separate tables to serve their time.

Jack was beside her, on the other side of the room. He seemed fixated on something out of the window even if the way he stared at it looked empty and bored. At least they were only staying for half the time Harold was. They could get a head start in leaving to avoid most of his wrath considering Jack's carelessness and blindness to limits were the reason he hadn't gotten out sooner.

How the clocks moved so much slower when you were bored. Theta thinks in frustration. 

Harold was there too, of course. She couldn't bring herself to turn around in fear that Harold could be glaring at her with those soulless and threatening eyes. What if he figured out that she was with Jack at the time he was prank? That's guilty by association, right? She had practically followed him around the whole day so how long would it take him to realise it? That she was there too. 

It's just nine minutes. Nine minutes and you can be done with this day. Leave it all behind and just go home. You've spent longer in detention than just 15 minutes. Coaxed Theta, trying to tell herself that she can survive a simple nine minutes of detention. Ready to slam her head against the desk, her vision moves to the teacher quietly writing on papers with black ink on them that Theta couldn't read even when she strained her eyes to the point where they felt like they would explode. 

The teacher randomly got up and left, turning just as he went to leave the room. "Do not engage in conversation nor move from your seats. Mr. Strax shall return for you delinquents." 

The door slammed, everything in the room moving a small inch from the force of the impact. Theta had accidentally let a small yelp escape her lips then tried to hide it by coughing. Oldest trick in the book. 

"I hate it when he refers to himself in the third person." A female voice mumbles with mass exhaustion that mirrored how they all felt. The others in the room murmured an agreement. 

"He'll be back soon. Probably before the 15 minutes are up to dismiss us." Replied Jack. 

"Lucky we only have 15 minutes then." The voice replies again and Theta turned herself to see a ginger woman with a zoned-out look watching the other people in the room. 

"Yeah. We're pretty lucky aren't we Harold?" 

Wincing at the mention of his name and the slightly taunting tone of voice Jack used, he heard a person stir a bit behind her and felt her whole body freeze from fear. 

"You just don't get it Harkness, do you?" Was all he said. Nothing else was heard from him for the rest of their detention time. 

Dully, the flame-haired woman replied, "Oh, don't go starting a war again you two. You hardly have enough time anyway." 

"Oh, you know me. Wreaking havoc. I have a long and extensive history of doing so. Slightly concerning but it's a good laugh in the end... usually." 

"Usually?" Echoed Theta, gaze shifting to him. 

"Yeah, uh, long story Theta. But I fixed it. Sort of. But that's not important." 

"What do you mean sort of-" 

Suddenly Mr. Strax bursted in, every student freezing in their tracks and shrinking back to the safety of their desks. Even if they were willing to break Mr .Strax's wishes when his back was turned, none of them were in the mood for even an extra minute of detention. 

All was quiet again, and was for the next five minutes. That was when Mr. Strax spoke again, raising his head to speak to them and let them go. Once they left and closed the door, his eyes moved to the blonde kid left who had the rest of his sentence to serve. 

"I guess that it's just you left, Saxon. Again. For the ninth time since the semester started two weeks ago. At least it's thirty minutes this time and not an hour. When will you learn that your constant disgraceful behaviour won't get you anywhere." 

Once again the soulless stare was unleashed like a sword being brandished. The teacher rolled his eyes and continued writing but couldn't help but feel the threat radiate from the boy opposite him, as if asking for a battle and causing a strange self-conscious feeling to overcome him. 

That was the effect all people suffered when Harold's burning eyes laid on them, regardless of how emotionless or commanding they were. 

_______________

"So," Starts Jack as they walk through the doors at the from of the school. "Who did you sass this time? Tell me it wasn't her." 

Her quiet mood suddenly changed and her hands moved with emphasis frantically around her. "You know it's all because that Nerys thinks she's so much better than me just because her mum works in this new fancy restaurant and she gets some big family discount."

He scoffs. "Some discount?"

"Yeah, but it's a Chinese restaurant. The Dragon Lantern or something." The woman says with a sigh of defeat. Theta looked blankly at the two and they both realised that she hadn't met the girl Jack was talking to.

She smiled warmly at Theta. "Donna Noble. Know him through a friend. Believes he's a right dream."

"And what? I'm not?" Chuckled Jack.

"Never said that now, did I? Goes around calling himself Captain but no one elected him. Still, it's bearable... when he's not here." Added Donna, smirking. 

Jack took a step back in mock-hurt and his hands flew to his heart, gasping. A light hearted joke. 

"Anyway, I think I should be getting home. Mum's gonna have a go at me for getting a detention even if I promised I wouldn't get one." 

"You should see them in action. It's like World War Three when they argue. Fighting fire with fire and they nearly burned the house down." 

"Guessing it's something I've got to see one day." Theta says. They wave goodbye to each other and Theta spots her mother's car in the distance, making her way over to it and tapping the window. The car is unlocked with two consecutive beeps and she throws herself in. 

"Someone's a bit late."

"Oh, they just, just needed um." Her mind tried to make up a plausible lie on the spot. "Just needed to make a new email for me. You know, new school and such."

Her mother murmered an okay and set her hands on the steering wheel, her vision sliding to the left. "Made a few friends, did we?"

Theta looked at Jack and Donna, walking down the street side by side. "Something like that." Only a few minutes ago did she meet Donna Noble and already Theta got the idea that although she appeared a strong-minded and sassy person Donna was really a kind friend.

She watched the houses go by and disappear behind her, feeling worn out from the strange day she'd just experience. When her mind was drawn to the possibilities of what could happen tomorrow, she couldn't help but smile with a compound of both uncertainty and excitement. Musing about the Academy passed her time in the car as she opened the car's doors to close them again when she got out, dragging her limbs heavy from lack of energy. 

Theta was unsure of what she would face in the rest of her days at Starswirl. If it was Harold's rage and torment or witnessing the school's failure to stop an pandemic of drugs spreading gradually to the whole academy or even just meeting new people. Maybe nothing would happen but deep down she knew this last option wasn't likely. 

Theta didn't know, but what she did know was that it was going to be one heck of a rollercoaster. 

One that didn't come with a seatbelt or airbag. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure whether I should do a timeskip or keep focusing on Theta's first week. If I do a timeskip it will probably be a month or two into the future.
> 
> Please tell me what you think :|  
> I will give you internet hugs.


End file.
